How many clothes?

[MissBax]

I'm 25 weeks pregnant but just wondering how many of everything we'll need for when baby's first born? We've got the pram, cot, etc etc. I still need to get a steriliser, reusable nappy starter set, and other bits and bobs (nipple guards and cream etc) but I'm just not sure how many clothes I need to get me through the first few weeks - how many baby grows, etc?? Also are there other things I need? Mitts / hats? This is my first and admit I'm pretty clueless!

We got a lot more gifts than we were expecting. One friend made us up a bit hamper of stuff that would have done us on it's own! There's no need to over buy, you can just order stuff online so easily if you need more.

My dd only fit into 0-3 at 3 months. She was 7lb 5Oz and I had to get DP to go get her some tiny baby because even newborn swamped her for 2 weeks.

Use disposable until 3 months (get the biodegradable kind)

Cellular blankets plus a nice soft receiving blanket.
Hated muslin cloths they were soo scratchy and irratated my dd.

Get a groegg they are brilliant.

Hands are a bad indicator of baby temperature. Check the back of the neck or chest for their core temp, you can feel if they are too hot.

I'd get a pack of "up to 1 month" vests and baby grows. My first was in them for about 4 weeks, second just 2 weeks but we're just under 8lb when born. If you need more or have a really small baby DH can be sent out to get them.
I'd also get a pack of 0-3 vests and babygrows, maybe a couple of packs if you know what your having.

Never used nipple shields or cream, spot of breast milk helps healing also your not then worried about having to wash it off before feeding (I'm not sure if people do wash cream off but would worry about baby ingesting it).

Nappies I agree reuseables is the way to go. But wait a few weeks. Cheaper in the long run and better for the environment.

Yes I'd use disposable for the first week or 2 (until the cord falls off) it means that all those first tart poos aren't staining your reusable. Then it depends on what reusable ones your using, if it's a birth to potty nappy then they're not very reliable on a newborn (such as totsbots all in ones). If it's a shapes sized nappy like little lamb size 1 with the separate wraps then you'll be fine from birth unless you have a tidily baby.

www.thenappylady.co.uk

I found this website great for reusable nappies, prices are great and there is lots of info too. Also there is help section to ask questions if you're still stuck, she helped me out with a few issues to start with.

Do you know you have to pre wash nappies to get them more absorbent? Also get a nappy bucket with a lid that has clips, it keeps the toddler out longer!

If you want to use reusable nappies (and for those that don't too), have you seen reusable wipes? I bought a kit from cheekywipes, they're worth a look. I bought them when DS was several months old, but I wish I'd got them sooner - I heard they're much better at getting meconium off too!

Thanks so much everyone! I'll check out all of those sites too :)

I've only just started using cheeky wipes and love them. Expensive and I'm sure you can get cheaper versions but the box is so handy.

I'm gong to go against the grain and say that I found the newborn days exactly the right time to get used to my reusable nappies. I just angled the Velcro down into a v shape to miss the cord and especially when I was in the hospital but also while DH was home on paternity leave, there wasn't as much to do as when he got bigger so there was more time to get it right. Also, it's so warm in the hospital that they can just wear a nappy as a best so you can see if the nappy isn't sitting right or is gaping at the leg. It did take a bit of practice and I wonder if I'd have found it more frustrating if I'd already got used to using disposable ones.

How many nappies do you have in the starter pack though? You may need disposables anyway to allow for washing and drying time. I had a birth to potty pack of 20 prefolds and 4 covers, plus a newborn pack of 12 prefolds and 3 covers to start with and used around 11 nappies a day, so washed every other day until that came down to seven a day, when I switched to every three days. We only ran out twice (once when I forgot I had left them outside and it rained and once while I was still in hospital and a very sleep deprived DH threw the wet bag in the bin instead of the washing machine before going to bed!)

The meconium was surprisingly easy to get rid of and left less staining than the usual bright yellow breast milk poo, although even that comes out like magic if left in the sun.

Clothes wise, if you are using cloth nappies either use waist length vests (mothercare wrap ones with applix fasteners are really nice but they are often short on stock) or get some vest extenders as a crushed nappy can leak easily. Also, nightgowns or bundlers are fantastic while they still need frequent changes. My mum gave me a couple she'd used for me and my brother and I loved them and got more. DS lived in them until he could sit unsupported and only wore clothes with legs when we used the car seat!

Good luck!

Cineraria - thanks so much for you advice! Can I ask which reusables you used??

We didn't have too many clothes at that age as they grow so quick and it's a waste if you have too many.
We didn't know the sex, so got enough to take to hospital in white, size newborn (up to 10lb), then when the baby was born we would go and get more in pink or blue, and we would know what size we actually needed.
We had a boy, and needed size tiny baby (up to 7lb 5).
We had 9 babygrows (3 packs of 3) with attached mittens
9 vests (3 packs of 3)
4 cardigans/ jackets
4 hats and 4 pairs of mittens
(We got all this new in Mothercare)

(We had the stuff we had in white in the next size up), as well as a few extras that came in a bundle from mil, mostly a few babygrows.

After he was a month we started dressing him in outfits during the day, so used less babygrows. But it's really not necessary to have loads of clothes at that age.

Don't forget that the shops don't shut the day your give birth and everywhere delivers.
A handful of vests and babygrows with a hat and a blanket will keep you going until you get home and gifts start arriving! You may well be given loads of cute things (but nobody sends plain vests so buy some)
You may be team yellow now but may want some pink/blue when they arrive.
We bought the absolute basics and when he arrived he was 4lbs so we had emergency deliveries of tiny hats and clothes from friends to the hospital!

Absolutely agree with the PP who said don't believe someone who says something is essential!

What is essential?
A safe way to transport baby home (carseat/capsule)
A safe place for baby to sleep
Nappies and wipes (disposable or reusable)
Milk (boobs or formula or both)
A handful of clothing items to keep baby warm enough/cool enough
That's all that is essential.

Every baby is so different. Everyone told me not to buy newborn size and just buy 0-3 because they grow so fast. Well don't you know it my baby was in premature (00000) for 4 weeks, newborn (0000) for the next 8 weeks and 0-3 (000) for only 2 weeks.

I use a combination of reusable nappies (Disana wool, though I trialled half a dozen others that other mum's gave me) and disposables (Tooshies by Tom, they are made of the highest % of recycled materials and degradable materials on the market in Aus). The popular advice was disposables in early days, but I honestly found the first 8 weeks stupidly easy to get used to reusables. Baby ate and then slept for 3 hours. Around the clock. For 8 weeks. She was very easy! I had heaps of time to clean and wash and nap. I suggest having a small pack of disposables to use perhaps while the cord is still on and just so you have a couple in case you have done your 200th nappy change in 24 hours and your brain is mush.

And as @Fizzy13 said above - the shops don't shut. I couldn't believe how much crap people were insisting we HAD to buy before the baby was born. We got the bare minimum and I'm so glad. If you can't physically get to the shops, you'll fine it can be delivered in 24-48 hours anyway!

Congratulations on your pregnancy MissBax! You must be v excited.

I agree with everyone about the fact you don't need lots of stuff to start with. You need to wait and see what your baby is like and how they behave first and then buy stuff accordingly. I fretted about what to get before my son was born (9 weeks ago) and I found I didn't need it all.

HOWEVER, beyond the obvious stuff like clothes / pram / car seat etc, I did find the following things invaluable to buy / get ready.

• Create a changing station for when you arrive home. Get a little basket and fill with nappies, wipes, nappy bags and some fresh vests and sleep suits. When you arrive home with your baby the last thing you need is to be faffing about looking for stuff. When he was first born I virtually set up camp downstairs and was v pleased I had already organised a changing area. (I'd get a packet of size 1 nappies and size 0)

• Be prepared to bottle feed. Obviously you may want to breastfeed and I did. But unexpected things can happen and it is very handy to have some formula and a bottle at home just in case. My baby had tongue tie and so refused to latch so when I got home, I was panicked that we didn't have the stuff ready for bottle feeding. Someone earlier said it but rather than invest in a sterilising machine now before you now whether you'll need it, you can get microwave sterilising bags from Amazon. I find the NUK bottles with the latex teats the best for newborns. Buy two so you are ready to go if you need to formula feed. And just buy some ready to drink formula rather than powder... again until you know if you need it.

• A Sheepskin liner. I have found this AMAZING and the one thing that is worth investing in as all babies seem to love them. They are about £45. They make a Moses basket more snug, can use in pram too... can just put on floor for the baby to lie on. They are brilliant & help them to sleep.

Also everyone said buy load of Muslins but we haven't used them that much to be honest. Depends what type of baby you have obviously but I bought about 20 on the advice of people and hardly use them.

• The Mobo Moses basket is amazing if you wanted to buy one

• The Sleepyhead is brilliant at making newborns feel more secure. At 9 weeks my baby is still in his and makes his cot feel more homely.

Hope this helps.

xx

Mum of six here. 👋🏻
My newborn kit list has diminuished significantly with each baby.
Here's my list.
Newborn sleep suits and vests (5 to 7 - You will change them a lot because babies leak poo and throw up)
Muslin cloths for your shoulder to catch sick.
Newborn nappies - 2/3 packs
Gentle wipes (cotton wool and water is brilliant but not so easily transportable if you go out, so get both.
Changing mat
Sudocrem (only use this if baby gets a sore bum)
Boobs. (Or of course bottles. But you can always send hubby out for emergency bottles if boobs thing doesn't work out. No stress.)
Car seat.

That's it at the beginning. Honest.
Maybe, a Moses basket and some cute bedding/ blankets. I had one but I rarely put my babies in. I coslept and carried them everywhere when tiny. Which reminds me, a soft stretchy baby wrap is a really good thing to buy. Faffy at first so practise wrapping it before baby is born. But worth having!
Best of luck to you and congratulations.

A sidecot was essential to us - don't bother with a moses basket. Sidecot/cosleeping (ONLY if you can meet all the safety guidelines) then straight to a cotbed (which will last until about 4 years old.

See if there's a nappy library near you (look on the Real Nappy website for a list) so you can try several brands to see what you like before spending lots of money. We used disposables for first 8 weeks - don't think I could have managed the washing until that point! And we bought most nappies second hand

I wouldn't buy a dummy ahead of needing it - my DD loved hers but some hate them.

Polly excellent I'll have a look for one - that sounds like a great idea! I had read that a dummy reduces chance of SIDS (i don't know how!), but really didn't want one if I could help it

I'm happy to say which nappies we had but what works for us won't necessarily be best for you. I'm not even sure now that I would go for the same again if I was staying over. Someone suggested doing the Nappy Lady questionnaire and I would definitely agree with that. I didn't know about it when I picked but did it later and bought some extras.

My criteria were cotton next to the skin (I have allergies and I know that can run in the family), plain white so they don't show through clothes, and some flexibility to adapt and change how they are used if I have problems. I didn't mind if they take some practice to get used to.

I got a Bambino Mio birth to potty prefolds pack as it met my criteria and Amazon had an open box one with a third off. I also bought a Bambino Mio newborn pack on eBay, second hand and open but unused as they don't sell them any more and I wanted some to use if the baby was small or if the others made clothes too bulky.

That was fine initially and I got a nice fold that worked for us and later made a few additions to sit our needs. DS was a heavy wetting boy with an hourglass figure (big round bottom, tiny waist and huge ribs) and jet propelled bowels that shot poo out in an alarming manner.

Extras I got included:

nappy nippers and pins to keep the wings of the poo catching fold tight closed

hemp boosters as they were slimmer, more absorbent, less prone to crush leaks and felt nicer than the ones in my kit (I got hemp fleece breast pads from the same company and loved them too, so soothing when they have absorbed a little milk)

Twelve terries and handknit soaker for breathability overnight- I wouldn't want to sleep 12 hours with my bottom in a plastic bag! This helped his nappy rash until it disappeared when he got the right medication dose for his acid reflux

5 bumgenius elemental. These don't hold much fluid but are great for outfits that otherwise wouldn't accommodate a cloth nappy. I would say that they are amaller when wet than a wet disposable which always makes DS look like hens wearing a codpiece!

Good luck choosing!